“There’s got to be a sense that
the State of Israel gives non-Orthodox Jews the same kind of Jewish
opportunities.

Because of issues such as Anat Hoffman’s arrest at the Kotel,
[MK David] Rotem’s conversion bill and the lack of freedom to marry, North
American Jews don’t see an Israel that reflects their core values.”

“For decades we said that
because of existential issues such as Iran, we cannot have conversations about
religion and state. I don’t discount that there are serious challenges, but
there is also a serious challenge from within that speaks to the heart and
character of what the state is about.”

Supreme Court
Justice Miriam Naor questioned the logic of the State’s arguments, asking “How
is the fact that giving a person money brings him closer to integration into
the work force? Logic dictates that if you don’t give him money [then] he will
have to work.”

"The
petitioners say that such payments discriminate against
women and members of other faiths and the non-Orthodox Jewish community, as
well against university students.

They say the policy
also discriminates against other welfare recipients because yeshiva
students are not required to show that they have been unable to find
employment; on the contrary, they are not allowed to work while receiving the
payments."

“At
the end of the 1970s, when Israel’s standard of living was relatively low,
education was not imperative for finding a job,” Ben-David said.

“In those
days, rates of employment among men with all levels of education, as well as
among haredi men, were over 80%. Today, in a competitive and global Israeli
economy, employment rates among the uneducated are below 50%, as are employment
rates among haredi men.

"“Since the Tal
Law expired, the State has been breaking the law of military service ... and
the implications of its response to the High Court is that it does not intend
to obey [its ruling], at least until after the elections and the establishment
of a new government,” Hiddush directorUri Regevsaid.

Eetta Prince-Gibson:
"If the IDF chooses to conscript large numbers of Haredi men who do not
accept the rules of the democratic game, who oppose equality for women and
insist on increasingly strict gender segregation, it will be trying to solve
one problem by creating other, more serious ones."

"We had a
meeting with officials from the Rabbinate's Kashrut Enforcement Division, and
they agreed to allow women to integrate in two fields: shatnez lab tests and
checking supervised leaves for bugs.

In both fields the
woman does not work at the actual business, but rather in an isolated and hidden
place, for modesty reasons."

"Sometimes, the
applicant receives the 'authorization' to serve as a rabbi within weeks or
months - thanks to his personal connections rather than his skills."

Ne'emanei Torah
Va'Avodah noted that as far as they knew, since the State's establishment,
dozens or even hundreds of rabbis have received a certification to serve in the
Rabbinate – or as city rabbis – without being required to take these exams.

Legal expert Ruth Halperin-Kaddari has been fighting for
women's rights around the globe, but faces some of her biggest battles in
Israel.

“Lately I've become more pessimistic. I feel that we’re not
progressing anywhere in the narrow field of family law.

And in the rabbinic courts in Israel, it’s one step forward
and two steps back. A decade ago there were no 'get' annulments. And now it’s a
norm. The situation is not improving, and it’s very discouraging. ...

There is no country in the Western world where personal
status law is governed by religious laws as it is in Israel.”

It’s hard to
believe, but the reality of divorce in Israel is even more problematic. The
process for ending a marriage is completely controlled by the religious court
systems, even for couples who went abroad to have a civil ceremony.

To make matters
worse, women are not permitted to testify in these courts, even during their
own divorce. Women cannot remarry if their husbands have gone missing or refuse
to give them a divorce. Childless widows have to undergo a humiliating ceremony
to be “released” by their brother-in-law.

Jerusalem's Aspaklaria Theater,
which was founded in 1998 as an Orthodox Jewish performance troupe, has been
recognized by the state as a repertory theater.

The National Council for
Culture and the Arts had not added a new company to its register of repertory theaters
for 14 years. Aspaklaria specializes in plays that demonstrate Jewish values
and are written by religious playwrights.

The way forward, he believes,
is not in arguing about whether one is being "anti-Israel" by criticizing
the country, or is "helping Israel" by defending it. Instead, he
would like to see a text-based, real debate about Jewish values, life and ideas
and to frame the discussion of Israel within that context.

"For example, what does
sovereignty mean 'Jewishly'? Or, what does it mean to integrate Jewish and
democratic values? These are some of the big questions we want to be
asking," he says.